After Shen Shaoqing and Huo Xiao had a falling - out earlier, Huo Xiao moved back to the old mansion, and the two were essentially separated.
Now, Shen Shaoqing followed Huo Xiao back to the old mansion to live. No one found it strange. They just assumed that the quarreling young couple had made up again, but Huo Xiao was still angry, so Shen Shaoqing chased her to the old mansion.
At the family dinner that night, when Grandpa Huo saw Shen Shaoqing, he even smiled, in a good mood.
"Shaoqing, she's my only granddaughter. You must treat her well and not bully her," Grandpa Huo instructed Shen Shaoqing.
Hearing this, Shen Shaoqing quickly replied with a smile, "Grandpa, I will."
To show the old man that he would really take good care of Huo Xiao, he kept picking up food for Huo Xiao during the meal, taking meticulous care of her.
Ling Nuan thought it was over - acting, making Huo Xiao seem like an incompetent person.
Grandpa Huo thought it was just right. Seeing that his granddaughter and grandson - in - law had a good relationship, he ate a few more mouthfuls of dinner that night.
Huo Linsheng was absent because of company matters.
To be precise, during the time Ling Nuan was in the old mansion, she always ate facing Huo Xiao's face. Huo Linsheng was so busy with the company that he hardly ever showed up. Now, there was an additional Shen Shaoqing, and she was forced to watch them showing their affection. Ling Nuan felt that her appetite was mostly gone.
Due to the old man being there, it was not appropriate to leave directly in a fit of anger. After dinner, Ling Nuan immediately found an excuse to leave.
As she left, she looked back.
Grandpa Huo was sitting in the living room.
Huo Xiao was sitting next to the old man, smiling and coquettishly holding the old man's hand. Shen Shaoqing was sitting on a single - person sofa beside them, peeling oranges for Huo Xiao.
Not knowing what Huo Xiao said, the old man was逗得哈哈大笑, and Shen Shaoqing also laughed. That scene looked harmonious but also stung her eyes.
Ling Nuan withdrew her gaze. Not wanting to go back to the bedroom, she went to the garden to get some fresh air.
She no longer had any lingering feelings for Shen Shaoqing, but that overly harmonious scene still annoyed her.
...
Although Shen Shaoqing was chatting with Huo Xiao and the old man, his eyes were always on Ling Nuan.
When he noticed Ling Nuan leaving from the corner of his eye, the bitterness in his heart almost overflowed. But when Huo Xiao's eyes swept over, he still had to smile and respond to Huo Xiao's words.
"Baby is so well - behaved. The doctor said that after observing for some more time, if there are no problems, we can go home. Grandpa, this Chinese New Year, we'll have four generations under one roof," Huo Xiao said.
Hearing this, Grandpa Huo beamed with joy.
Seeing that the old man liked to hear about this, Huo Xiao started telling funny stories about the baby. Every few sentences, she would look at Shen Shaoqing and say, "Shaoqing, isn't it like this?"
Shen Shaoqing would smile and reply "Yes", and then add a few more things about the baby.
Regarding the baby, Shen Shaoqing obviously had more to say than Huo Xiao, and the old man listened with great interest.
After accompanying them for a while, Shen Shaoqing finally found an opportunity. He made up an excuse to leave. Huo Xiao was busy accompanying Grandpa Huo and didn't pay attention. Or perhaps she knew but just thought that Shen Shaoqing was carrying out their plan.
Shen Shaoqing wandered around the house and then found Ling Nuan in the garden.
"You're still the same," Shen Shaoqing said to Ling Nuan, who was sitting there in the cold wind, with a complicated tone.
The winter wind was very cold.
But Ling Nuan thought the cold wind could sober her up, and that was exactly what she needed most now.
When she heard Shen Shaoqing's voice, the emotions that had just been calmed down by the cold wind instantly flared up again.
She didn't even want to look at Shen Shaoqing.
"Mr. Shen, you've got the wrong person, haven't you?" Ling Nuan replied coldly, and then got up to leave.
In this garden, with Shen Shaoqing around, she felt that the air had become repulsive. Moreover, Huo Linsheng might come back at any time. If he saw them, God knows how many troubles would arise.
In Ling Nuan's mind, Shen Shaoqing was now a virus to be avoided at all costs.
Seeing that Ling Nuan was about to leave, Shen Shaoqing stepped forward and blocked her, looking pained. "Nuan Nuan, does it have to be like this between us?"
Ling Nuan looked at Shen Shaoqing, with disgust and confusion in her expression. "Shen Shaoqing, why do you think there's still a possibility for us to get along peacefully after so many things have happened? Or have you come up with another way to deal with me and drive a wedge between me and Huo Linsheng?"
Shen Shaoqing didn't answer but said, "Nuan Nuan, you're not happy."
Ling Nuan suddenly stiffened. There was more complexity in her gaze as she looked at Shen Shaoqing.
"I can tell that you're not happy staying in the Huo family," Shen Shaoqing emphasized again. "You're a person who wants to pursue your own value. Even though the identity of Mrs. Huo can bring you a lot of glory and wealth, for you, it may not even compare to the joy you get from solving a difficult problem at work."
Ling Nuan's expression was relatively calm, but her hands couldn't help but clench tightly to prevent her emotions from showing.
"You stayed in Huoshi back then with your own goals and were full of motivation. Even though the job of a secretary wasn't your passion, you could still find your own value. But now, being forced to stay in the Huo family and just being a rich - family wife who suppresses her true nature in others' eyes, unable to even do the most basic work. Nuan Nuan, you don't like this kind of life. You're not happy."
"Shen Shaoqing, don't think you know me well," Ling Nuan interrupted Shen Shaoqing. "People change."
Shen Shaoqing let out a soft scoff. "Nuan Nuan, you can't fool anyone on this matter. You're not happy. You don't want this kind of life at all!"
Ling Nuan could hardly hold back her emotions.
Shen Shaoqing had indeed guessed right.
She was not happy.
Even though she knew that Huo Linsheng would help her solve the problems of Qing Nuan and deal with Shen Shaoqing, Ling Nuan was still not happy.
But she couldn't tell Huo Linsheng these things.
"That's just your self - assumption," Ling Nuan threw this sentence and walked straight past Shen Shaoqing.
This time, Shen Shaoqing didn't stop her.
He just shouted at her back, "Nuan Nuan, this time, you still made the wrong choice. Huo Linsheng is not the right person for you. He doesn't understand you at all and has never considered you. You made the wrong choice, Nuan Nuan!"
For the first time, Ling Nuan fled in a hurry in front of Shen Shaoqing.
He had hit the nail on the head, but she didn't dare to admit it.
Similarly, she couldn't let go of this relationship.
Even without the betrayal, for Ling Nuan, Huo Linsheng and Shen Shaoqing meant completely different things to her. Although Shen Shaoqing was her first love, Ling Nuan clearly knew her own feelings. She loved Huo Linsheng more.
At least for now, she couldn't let go of Huo Linsheng. So, she chose to make concessions to maintain this relationship.
She told herself, Ling Nuan, Huo Linsheng has done so much for you. Shouldn't you also take a step back for him and give up some of your own choices?
Ling Nuan didn't want to think about this problem.
She stopped only after Shen Shaoqing's voice in the back had faded away and couldn't be heard anymore.
At the same time, her phone vibrated.
It was a call from Huo Linsheng.